Address & Contact Edit
Dirk Hartog Island
Dirk Hartog WA
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Cape Inscription is the most northerly location on Dirk Hartog Island and arguably the most historically significant site in Australia.
This was the place of the first recorded landing by Europeans on Australian soil when Dutchman Dirk Hartog came ashore in 1616 on the northern end of the island. He left a record of his landing inscribed on a pewter plate nailed to a post in a cleft of a
rock on the high
cliff. Today, more modern posts mark this spot.
The
Cape Inscription lighthouse - together with the keepers' quarters - was built between 1908 and 1910. It still operates but has been automated since 1917. In 2012, the Shire of
Shark Bay renovated the
lighthouse keepers' quarters, which had fallen into disrepair over the years since
lighthouse automation.
Malkana people are recognised as the traditional owners of
Dirk Hartog Island National Park.